The whole course, one week at a time.
You've got people ready to learn and a stack of good handouts with no obvious order. This is the order — ten sessions that build on each other, yours to run however your group meets: a church small group, a mentorship, a classroom, a kitchen table. Free, and no prep.
It isn't a grab-bag to pick from. It's a course with a spine: the same next-dollar ladder the whole site is built on, running from what money is for to somewhere it ends on purpose.
Before week one, read why we teach it this way — the few principles behind every session, each shown with the math. It's the reading to do before you gather anyone.
Then print the Where am I? self-check for each person to fill in — it maps them onto the ten sessions, so everyone arrives knowing which weeks matter most for them. Keep the money-words card on the table too, so the jargon is always one glance away in a phone-free room.
Teaching this in a school? See how the ten sessions map to national and Texas standards — a crosswalk to paste into a syllabus or hand your department.
The Foundations semester.
The six-session on-ramp every saver needs — from what money is for to where the next dollar goes. A group can stop here and have run a complete short course.
Three months in a coffee can
The match is part of your pay
Where the next dollar goes
A group can stop here. Weeks one to six stand alone as a complete six-week short course — the foundations every saver needs.
Print the six-week pack →After week six the foundations are set, and the course changes gear. Investing gets two passes: mindset back in week five, then mechanics now in week eight. Protecting what you've built means insurance (week nine); then the arc closes at giving and what you leave (week ten), the terminus the whole course has been building toward. Nothing is rushed; each session does one job.
The adult track.
Four sessions for a group past the basics — paying off debt, the accounts behind your saving, the insurance you actually need, and what you give and leave.
The insurance you actually need
Giving & what you leave
The arc ends here, at Giving & what you leave — money doing work beyond you. That's the terminus on purpose: a group that reaches it has walked the whole ladder.
Print the adult-track pack →What you'll learn.
Every session in one place — the single idea it turns on, the skill your group practices together, and the sheet each person takes home.
| The session | You'll learn | You'll practice | You leave with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 01Money's two jobs | Money has two jobs: be there when you need it, and grow over time. | Split a real budget into today money and tomorrow money | Monthly budget on one page |
| Week 02Your first paycheck | Your paycheck isn't shrinking — it's being divided, and the names of the dividers are worth knowing. | Read a real pay stub, line by line | First-paycheck breakdown |
| Week 03Three months in a coffee can | An emergency fund is a fire extinguisher, not an investment — boring, immediate, and kept separate. | Size an emergency fund to your own monthly bills | Emergency fund in three stages |
| Week 04The match is part of your pay | An employer match is part of your pay — you just have to opt in to receive it. | Add up the match you'd leave on the table | Capture your employer match |
| Week 05Time beats amount | Tomorrow money is paid for waiting, not for working harder. | See an early start out-grow a bigger late one | Start your compounding clock |
| Week 06Where the next dollar goes | Your next dollar goes to the lowest unfunded step — and after any major life change, you walk the list again from the top. | Walk the next-dollar ladder with your own money | Your next dollar's address |
| Week 07Debt, the honest way | The interest rate, not the size of the balance, decides which debt is a fire — and the employer match comes before any of them. | Rank your debts by rate to spot the fires | Which debt burns first |
| Week 08Which account, and why | The account is a tax deal, not the investment — and Roth vs. Traditional is a choice you make on purpose, not a default. | Place each dollar in the right account wrapper | Fill the tax-deal grid |
| Week 09The insurance you actually need | Insurance is only for the catastrophes you couldn't write a check for — never the small stuff, and never as an investment. | Sort real risks into need, skip, and write-a-check | The write-a-check test |
| Week 10Giving & what you leave | Money has a life beyond you in two directions — what you give on purpose, and what you leave — and neither happens by default. | Decide who chooses — a will, a form, or the default | Who actually decides |
How to begin.
Start this week. Print week one, gather your group, and run it — thirty minutes, no prep, no math background. Then keep the order: each session builds on the last, and the whole thing ends at giving and what you leave. Six weeks for the short course, ten for the full arc.
Leading it yourself? The coordinator guide covers cadence, group norms, and where to refer someone in real trouble — and the packets carry their own leader notes, while why we teach it this way covers week zero. Hand everyone the ten-week tracker in week one, so each session opens on the last one's move instead of a blank page. Teaching it in a school? See how every session maps to national and Texas standards.